CQ CQ Shortwave listeners of Ireland . . . yes you!

I have received this correspondence from Brendan Nutley EI1429 and considered it worthy of propagation.

CQ SWL’s of Ireland!!!

Recently I had a conversation with Dave Moore EI4BZ regarding the lack of Short Wave Listeners on the DXCC listing in the Echo Ireland. It turns out that up until I picked up the phone no one has enquired about it… WHAT?
I find it strange given that there is so many of us in Ireland not a soul has made this inquiry or even submitted their confirmed DXCC list?
Now I understand that we are unable to transmit, and that we have to have a “Babysitter” with us when we want to use a transceiver but “does we all know” that there are awards out there to be won? I am guessing not as I do not see SWL’s applying for the positions except one that I know of EI1588 Shauna Baynes. She won the 80m Counties SWL in June this year, with only 11 QSO’s...! “Shauna its mine next year, hands off!”
So you see it’s not tough and it would make things a little more entertaining. Every contest that has taken place this year SSB, CW, and RTTY, I have done my best to work it, and permitting that I have the good fortune to be able to have time off to sit through the entire length of the contest, I will.
Ask my XYL, it drives her mad! "Sorry Love!"
Only last week I entered the SKCC WES CW Sprint, In 24hrs I only managed to receive 12 contacts, but it earned me an SWL 2nd place and currently 33rd in the world (of SKCC Members). I am not anyway good at CW, in-fact I am appalling, but when you know the call sign of the Ham you are looking for it makes it easier to hear them, and you get the benefit of learning the sounds and how they are send, for me that is a big bonus as I have a learning difficulty.

So. . . . I want from you,
* Your name
* your call sign
* and your (Confirmed) DXCC total’s for 2009 to date

I have been told that if I manage to get “3 SWL’s” or more we will get a mention in the ‘auld Echo Ireland!
That would be nice. . . What’ a think?

Regards,
Brendan Nutley
EI1429 (EI-Half-Past-Two . . . in a minute!)

Pensive but philosophical three days on

Well, it's now three days since the exam and, although I am still filled with apprehension about the results, I am trying to get into a mindset where I am not expecting anything.

I have been able to remember almost all the questions from Section A, and the answers that I gave, and I realise that it's very tight. I know I got some right, I think I got some others right, and there are others I'm not sure about. Plus there are a number which I know I got wrong.

The main conclusion that I've drawn is that, in Section A at least, it's so close that I couldn't possibly call the result. I may fail by just a question or two. I was disappointed that I got three out of the four measurements questions wrong. The propagation section was tougher than I thought and there's at least one question there which I'm not confident about. In the first ten questions, I am certain about only five - that's just half. I am puzzled about a question about what the purpose of a capacitor in a transformer was. I put down "to reduce hum" and am not confident. Also, there was the diagram of an audio amplifier asking what two capacitors and a resistor were for. They looked a bit like a pi network or low pass filter so I gave the answer "to limit the AF bandwidth". Another possible answer related to RF feedback so I assumed that to be wrong.

The first question in the whole test asked what a radio wave was:

a) an electromagnetic field
b) an electric field
c) a magnetic field
d) an electro-somethingorother field. (Can't remember the fourth answer).

I gave a) an electromagnetic field

In feeders and antennas, I think I was right in answering that the characteristic impedance of a quarter wave electrical feeder was determined by its dimensions and the spacing of the conductors rather than the other options which were: its length, the power used and something else, maybe the SWR.

Also, a feeder open at the far end would show low impedance at the near end. I looked that up when I got home and discovered I got it right.

An FM transmitter amplifier works in Class C because? Well I answered that it was rich in harmonics. An FM transmitter uses frequency multiplication which requires harmonics, so I might be right on that one.

There were three separate questions about band plans and power etc, two in Section B and one in Section A. To my absolute disgust, I found that I only got one right. 15 metres is 21.000 to 21.450. I was asked what the maximum power was on 1.9 MHz. I said 100 watts but the answer is 10 watts. I was asked what mode was 29.520-29.700 reserved for. Having initally given the correct answer - FM - I then doubted myself and opted for QRP instead. Again this was simply down to me not knowing my stuff well enough. Plus, in an exam situation where you have no books or internet or notes to refer to, self doubt creeps in when there is the slightest suspicion about a wrong answer.

There was a question, I'm not sure whether it was in propagation in Section A or not, about what the frequency 14.100 was reserved for. I answered beacons, which I believe is correct.

The end result of all my investigations since the exam is nothing but anxiety. And that's because I didn't give enough correct answers to give myself a comfort zone. I got two simple answers wrong - one was the graph for the current through an inductor, the other about AM being a carrier plus two sidebands. (I said carrier plus one sideband. Where the hell did I get that idea? Silly mistake which might have cost me the whole bloody exam.)

Another question in Section A was about the intermediate frequency of a CW transmitter, or something like that, maybe the difference between the oscillator frequency and the IF. There were four possible answers: 10MHz, 0.8kHz, 455kHz or 1Hz. I thought 10Mhz and 1Hz looked like completely spurious answers and I knew in all the superhet receiver questions that 455kHz was always mentioned so I went for that.

My little "Man United's New Players" mnemonic helped me answer a question which asked about what value a 1000 uF capacitor had. The answer was 1 nF. Great!

In the safety part of Section C, the first question asked how to wire a plug. The second question asked something like what was most likely to give you an electric shock in a circuit, and the answer was capacitor. The third question asked the purpose of a fuse in the plug of a transceiver. The most legitimate answer looked to me to be that it protected the transceiver from voltage or current overload, something like that.

There was a question about a HF transmitter interfering with a TV which was tuned to certain frequencies (I think one was an 800 mhz band). The most appropriate action, in my opinion, was to fit a high pass filter to the downlead of the TV antenna.

The first question in Section C was about the primary purpose or issue of concern with regard to Electromagnetic Compatibility. One answer was the protection of human health from emissions, but to be honest the more likely answer to me was the prevention of spurious emissions, so that's the one I gave.

If I can remember any more questions I will note them here. Hopefully that will provide some assistance to people who intend to sit the next exam. I might well be sitting it with you!! . . .

Done and dusted - a difficult exam

Well, it's finally over. I'm sitting here at home after a long day, and one full of anticipation and tension and nerves. I was glad to have the company of Michael from Kilenny in the coffee shop on O'Connell Street to kill the time running up to the exam.

When the time finally arrived, and the exam started, I decided I would turn over the paper and have a read through it. I read all 60 questions. When I came to the end, my first thought was "this is going to be tough". And indeed it was. I found Section A particularly gruelling. This was not helped by the fact that I was uncertain in a number of answers (some of which I later discovered I got wrong, after I had left the test) and there were a number of questions which completely stumped me. I had hoped that the fact the test was concentrating more on the practical and a little bit less on the theoretical would help me, but I ended up with the feeling that I might have failed.

At this moment in time, I can do nothing else but be philosophical. I got a few questions wrong that I should have got right. For instance, what power can be used on 1.9 MHz? Answer: 10 watts, but I said 100. What mode can be used on 29.520-29.700? I changed my answer to QRP, having initially ticked the correct answer, which was FM.

I got the graph for current through an inductor wrong. Basic stuff, but I got mixed up and might end up paying the price for it.

Some of the early questions were straightforward. The resistor question asked what was the current through one of two resistors in series. The inductance question asked the total inductance in a circuit containing two parallel inductors. Straightforward stuff. One question asked to identify the waveform which would result from a certain circuit diagram containing a diode and a resistor. I made a guess at it.

I was happy enough with the propagation section - 6 questions in total. One interesting question asked which of the following would be the least likely to cause DX on VHF (or something similarly worded)

The Moon
Meteors
F2 Layer
E Layer

I answered F2 layer.

In measurements we were asked what a two-tone test oscillator is used to measure. Two of the options were : carrier suppression and SSB suppression. I guessed the latter.

There were some extremely difficult questions. At least they seemed difficult to me because I had not come across them in all my weeks of study. One asked what would happen if an antenna resonant at frequency fMHz was lengthened by 5%. The available answers were something like:

It would go open circuit
It would present pure resistance
It would have capacitive reactance
It would have inductive reactance

I hadn't a clue on that one and took a complete guess.

There was a question about what would affect the low-angle, long distance radiation pattern of a vertically polarized antenna. Again I was completely stumped.

Overall, the test was more difficult than I expected. There were no questions about the selectivity or sensitivity or gain of a receiver. There was a question asking us to identify a certain block in an SSB transmitter. I answered correctly - "Mixer" - phew! At least I know I got one right . . . There were no questions about transistors, insulators, conductors. There was one question asking the impedance of a folded half-wave dipole. I answered 300 Ohms which I think is the correct answer.

The prefixes question was European. it was a CW call SP9??? DE OH5??? - a Finnish statin calling a Polish station. Another question asked to identify the callsign which did not conform to the ITU standards. I went for WAB7 because I think the third character must be a numeral if memory serves me right.

In the final section, there was a safety question which asked the correct wiring of a plug. I'm glad to say I knew that one!

Overall I thought it was a tough exam. I was taken aback I have to say. Certainly when I got to the last question in Section A - question 35 - I had already left out six or seven questions which I decided to return to later, simply because I was unable to answer them. I proceeded to Section B and then Section C before returning to Section A to have another go. There was a circuit diagram showing an audio amplifier which asked what was the function of two capacitors and a resistor in the circuit. I thought they looked like a low pass filter or a pi network and guessed that they were for limiting the AF bandwidth. A guess based on a wee hunch.

It's been a long day, and a long ten weeks. I'm exhausted. I'm also apprehensive, but there's nothing I can do now only wait. And if it's not to be this time round, I have to wait until next June before I can sit the exam again. I have to say it's a prospect I'm not looking forward to. If by some mircale I pass the exam, I will be absolutely overwhelmed with joy, but I'm not holding my breath.

I should know within two weeks. Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later. Put me out of my misery !

One lesson from all this is that this is just a blog. A blog written by an enthusiast. An enthusiast who has no formal training in this stuff. So by all means take advice from this blog and try to learn something from it, but don't swear by it! I wanted to share my experience as someone who was taking this on from scratch (although fair enough, I was a short wave listener before I started studying). I hope that you have enjoyed reading it, and that you have indeed learned something from it. I followed my own advice by and large over ten weeks and have ended up with the feeling of being short-changed.

Whether that's just because of my own shortcomings or whether it's a mixture of factors I cannot say clearly. I would imagine there is scope to hold more than two exams in the year. If I fail this time, it will be eight months before I can sit it again. By that time I might have lost all enthusiasm, plus I would forget a lot of what I've learned in the meantime. There are no classes taking place in my region to help me. Michael in Kilkenny says there's nothing down his way either. At the end of the day, enthusiastic guys like him and me are left to our own devices to wade through a huge amount of material in an effort to get that all-prized licence. I know, and can state with certainty, that I would be a good operator, and would be a welcome addition to the hobby. If I fail this test, which is a distinct possibility, I would like the opportunity to be able to do a resit within a month. I think many would be in the same position. A resit in a short space of time would make sense because as I said above, a lot of the information currently stored up in my brain like current in a capacitor will have disippated (as heat!) I feel that if I had to leave it until next June, it would be like starting from scratch all over again. Michael was talking to another two repeaters (excuse the radio pun!) after today's exam and they all agreed that this exam was even tougher than the June exam.

However, not to end negatively, I have enjoyed the journey. Not knowing the destination can sometimes be fun, but sometimes it can be daunting. Right now, I am daunted. I feel that there's nothing else to do than to try and put it all out of my mind and turn to other things, at least until an envelope with IRTS on it arrives at my house some time in the next fortnight . . . At this precise moment in time, I am listening to a QSO on 2 metres between some of the local operators. So I haven't ditched the hobby on the basis of a difficult exam!!

I hope to work 11 metres later on. Yes, I know what the Ham operators are going to say . . . the last refuge of the desperate !! But no, there are some decent operators on 11m and some good DX to be had if the conditions are right.

And if I remain in positive mood, I might just take a scan through the ham bands and see if there's any interesting listening :D

One tiny last bit of cramming!!

Ok, I just had this idea that I didn't do enough on safety, relying too heavily on QADV, so I whipped out the IRTS disk and did a bit more study. A few interesting things turned up.

One is that the human body has a low resistance, of around 500 ohms. Voltages of as little as 30 to 50 volts can kill, but it's the current that usually does the job. Remember this:

"It's the volts that jolt and the mils that kill". That should help you remember it.

If you have to ground something for lightning strikes, make sure the rods are between 5 and 8 feet long.

Oh, and if you need to stay a mast, it must be stayed at a height of 60-80% of its overall height.

Just a day away now - good luck everyone !

Countdown Timer: 0 weeks 1 day to go

Well, we're almost there at last. Hasn't time flown? I'm still studying. No, I think you could call it "cramming" at this stage. There are a few things I'm still not sure about, but hopefully I've done enough to pass.

Make sure you bring your paperwork (would have been sent to you in the post by IRTS) and of course your photo ID (driving licence, passport etc). I intend to get a bus from Drogheda in the morning. I hope to get an early bus just in case of delays. I'd rather be there early and hanging around than to be late and find the exam has started without me!

I will report afterwards on how I think the exam went and what sort of questions came up. Remember that there are only 10 questions on theory now and 6 on propagation etc. See previous posting.

Just before I go, a little bit on transistor connections, which might well come up:

Common-base connection:
Low input impedance, high output impedance.

Common-emitter connection:
Input and output impedance similar (medium value).

Common-collector:
Input impedance high, output impedance medium.

A quick note on propagation layers.

Lowest is D. Disappears pretty much at night, ionised during the day. When heavily ionised, prevents signals reaching higher levels.

D layer - 80km above ground
E layer - 120 km above ground
F1 layer - 200 km above ground
F2 layer - 350 km above ground

F layers combine at night. Their ionisation is weakest just before dawn.


OK, I'm off now to do some study on QADV and cram in some more !!!

Just one week left to go - and the question numbers have changed!!

Countdown timer: 1 week 0 days to go

Can you believe how fast time has gone around? And here I am, with just a week to go, an anxiety building, thinking about the subjects I still have to cram in !

Just a quick note on something I copped onto today. In Section A the number of questions on various subjects has CHANGED.

There are no longer 12 questions on theory and circuits etc, but just 10.
There will be 6 questions on propagation instead of 4.
There will be 7 questions on antennas and feeders instead of 4.

The above has been confirmed to me tonight by the IRTS. The change was obvious between sample paper revision 3 and revision 4 but to be honest I only saw it today!

Some people might consider this a boost. I certainly know some people who are anxious about the first part of Section A. It seems that the IRTS has rearranged section A slightly to focus on more practical areas and less on the theoretical.

My advice right now is this:

Make sure you can rhyme off all the formulae needed for Section A.

Ohm's Law and its variants - V=IR, I=V/R, R=V/I.
Power and its variants
Inductive reactance
Capacitive reactance
Impedance
Resonance R = one over two pi square root of LC!

Here is the impedance formula:

How to calculate resistance, impedance and capacitance. Remember resistance and inductance in series = R1+R2, L1+L2 etc, and in parallel is R1xR2/R1+R2; and all this is the opposite with capacitors - i.e. CAPAcitors Capacitors Add in PArallel. So parallel = C1+C2, series = C1xC2/C1+C2.

It's handy to be able to identify various diagrams. These might include the filters (low-pass, highpass, band stop etc) and a balun and a transformer and an oscillator etc but don't stress out on this. Getting one question wrong won't make you fail.

Propagation = 6 questions, so use QADV and answer 30 questions at a time. You'll see a pattern emerging and eventually you won't be able to get anything wrong!

7 questions on antennas and feeders. Again, keep answering questions in QADV.

The other sections are the same as they were in Sample Paper revision 3. 15 questions in Section B covering the operating rules and procedures and the licensing conditions. Remember this is based on the new Radio Amateurs legislation introduced in June and not the previous Radio Experimenters legislation. Read document 09/45 on Comreg.ie to catch up if you haven't done so already. Remember at least one, but probably two, questions in Section B will relate to callsigns. See earlier posting for list of European prefixes. History would show it is European countries which are asked about and not anything obscure.

In Section C, electromagnetic compatibility and transmitter interference are now in one section of 7 questions. Again, hit QADV and answer a couple of hundred questions and you'll see a pattern emerging. QADV works. When you see the same questions coming up over and over and over again you eventually get them right!! I have done 1,400 questions in the past fortnight and got 83% of them right.

For safety (3 questions), one piece of advice is to learn the appropriate values for plug tops, thus:

3A = 550 watts
5A = 1100 watts
13A = 2850 watts

This is one area that I knew nothing about and hence got a question in Sample Paper rev.4 wrong.

Best of luck guys. If I don't update between now and next week, it's because I've got my head in the books!! See you there . . .

Diodes and transistors - the final countdown

Countdown timer: 2 weeks 0 days to go

Right. Just a fortnight to go. Last night was spent in the company of Brian EI7GVB to do some study on diodes and transistors. Now I'll be honest in saying that I have been daunted about approaching this subject. I think I've mentioned tackling it half a dozen times on here but never actually touched the subject. I did learn some things last night but the major thing I learned is that there is a certain amount of information to be taken in and it will require concentration to do so.

However, if you're at the stage I'm at and you've covered about 80% of the material you might be of the opinion that you could afford to skip over it. After all, you might only get one or two questions on this in Section A.

Sucker for punishment that I am, there's no option for me but to tackle it and see what I can learn!! More later . . .